The United Terran Alliance
The History of the Terran Alliance The Terran Alliance was founded in 2308 by a group of highly affluent and well developed star systems. These systems Tyrian, Dehlini , Ixcumane , Savarra, And Torm came in to existence as the result of an earlier colonization effort by the alliances precursor organization the Federation of capitalist worlds. The Federation was originally came out of a internationally funded effort by various space agencies from polities in Sol, two of witch was the Federal union and its commonwealth allies. This international stellar exploration organization was formed as the combined space program known as the Interstellar exploration division ISED . It was founded in 2020, and sent it's first probes from earth in to interstellar space by the end of the 21st century. These probes had been sent out to scout and verify the evidence of earth like and super earth like planets in the Sagittarius Arm previously uncovered by long range telescopes and earth based scanners. By the year 2120 with earth now in some of its more violent swings of international disarray due to a multitude of reasons an organization of nations set out to do the impossible creating a workable faster than light drive system. As earth and the nations funding the project entered in to a state of all out war with various power blocks on the planet, famous minds from various nations including The Federal Union, and her allies poured countless hours and countless funds and materiel in to a theory many thought would never work. They were mocked, ridiculed and in a time of war were constantly questioned becoming a sore spot for the elected officials and administrations that supported them. But as patients wore thin and the years went on things began looking brighter for the projects, in 2135 Jenifer Grayson and a group of leading researchers at the Federal Jet propulsion laboratory, announced that they had successfully tested a magnetic based Hyper Drive. Although they generated it using a gate like system on an object the size of a small automobile, it was a significant leap forward , an object sent faster than light broke all the previous rules of physics and reenforced the conjecture that had been around for nearly a century that physics was inaccurate. When that test object appeared in the other chamber, four miles away intact the world stopped. More and more resources and funding was allocated to its research, and consequently to the researched of manned ships and probes. It would take decades with successes and failures before the next major leap was conducted. In 2180 around the planet Jupiter a circular bulky primitive looking hyper gate station deigned to create gravity by rotating had been complete, and the first test vehicle a mundane bit of metal strapped with various sensors was moved in to position, the second subject was a more advanced and highly intricate probe. As the gate charged its drive system assisted with the power and the magnetic field of Jupiter itself a white and blue portal of energy crackled to life for a split second before engulfing the test object. The electronics attached to this object were simple transceivers by now agencies had discovered how to recive and send signals through hyperspace without having to open full portals. A grainy black and white video feed showed the first glimpse in real time of an extra solar planet and extra solar system. Nations were in awe, the second probe was sent through and a more detailed picture of the system was starting to emerge. Though it was uninhabitable it did prove this worked on a large scale. Early Colonization The Early Colonization existed between the 2190's and the 2250's, ships were built throughout the decades to carry people from planetary orbits or even the middle of space. This fueled independent systems away from sol. Sol was still divided in to many nation states at this time and inter system space was populated by hostile entities, the only solution was to exit the system. Many ships were lost others were lucky, and yet others constructed star base colonies, that to this day now exist as affluent bases, like cities in space. A zone of sectors in the Sagittarius Arm was discovered as a green spot. That's where the alliance gained its beginnings by the 2250's the core-planets of the alliance began to rise. Tyrian ,New Earth, Dehilni ,Savara, Ixcuamne, Camanis. All these important planet states had developed fleets of both merchant ships and war ships to combat privateers. Pirates were of issue in and around sol, as well as around merchant lines connecting these systems. By this time they had also been contacting many other worlds, both baseline and augmented humans. Eventually at the end of the 2270's Each planet was now in the Alliance of capitalist worlds an organization made to mutually fund a trade route police force and increase naval exercise participation, at no sooner date could this have been so when first contact with alien life were made. Interlaced with an odd happenstance of finding alien artifacts across the core planets in dig sites for massive fusion reactors , things for the organization and rich planets began to change. The ACW extended across a vast sector, it touched either side of Sol and separated Sol's immediate access to the center of the galaxy, it also separated organizations on either side. The Terran Alliance was officially formed in the year 2308 following various skirmishes with border powers and alien presences. On November 2, 2308 on the world of Tyrian, the elected officials of the various worlds gathered, prime ministers, premiers, presidents, and senators in to a packed opulent hall in down town Tyrian city to sign the constitution of the Terran Alliance. Early Alliance period In this period a number of major structural changes were taking place, a transition period was in effect. The ACW turned from an organization to a governmental body over various worlds. The responsibilities initially outlined in the constitution remain to this day the core principles of the government, the federal government is charged with the defense of the nation, the well being of its economy, and the federal level of investigation and policing. Monetary policy is another power retained by the federal government. Trade policy is shared between member worlds and the primary government. Education was meant and is meant to be a shared responsibility of the interstellar government and its holdings. The Early alliance was fought with political pitfalls changes, and grandeur climbs to the tops falls from grace and redemption economically, politically and international. Originally designed to be a supranational organization the Alliance eventually became the defacto federal government and representative of its member planets. Growth during this period was in spurts, wars were not uncommon but avoided as much as possible and many of the integrated species and ground work for the modern Alliance was laid down in this period, in the centuries preceding the modern era. ---- Economics as the early alliance flourished and as New Earth Was declared the capital world after deliberation , as the nation was formed the economy grew as companies and organizations that were previously small and localized began to integrate in to the grander market at large merging to mega conglomerates, up sizing and establishing investments across Terran held territories. Life became better for everyone, employment in the services sector was at an all time high. The liberation from tedious production by the advent of the fabricator liberated the populace and improved quality of life beyond known scale. With in several years the production ability of the alliance had s risen quadrupling every five years. This rise was also helped along by the fact that more and more artifact tech was uncovered on Terran settled worlds, Along with the Alliances own investments in to research, this gave enormous resources and technological prowess to the fledgling capitalist economy. The Free combined market was wild in the early years leading to many contractions, rebounds rises and falls before stabilizing with federal market controls . Advanced planning due to the elimination of natural death and the employment of highly advanced AI's made things such as the crash of 2560, and the recession of the 2770 largely a thing of the past. Though they were drastic for their time they eventually lead to a stable and growing economy and mitigated the impacts of future recessions. The size of the Alliance and indeed many polities that inhabited the galaxy was so immense that one or more systems could be in a down turn and others would be growing. The federal government had several delegated taxation powers, planetary and system governments were intended to operate with some autonomy in most affairs. The Alliance built the groundwork for their economic might soundly. as advanced forecasting networks of AI took root , AI management firms sprung up and productivity skyrocketed. People still needed jobs and in general things to do, the soaring unemployment rates impact was mitigated by the quickly growing service field. Automation did away with the toil of factory work, fabricators eliminated large parts of the resources supply and demand system traditionally used by nation states on planets. The majority of modern employment in the Alliance now focused on service industries, from corporate office work, to the medical field , engineers to architects , information and mass media positions. The Education system was also a big employer and with the new dynamics in the never agining population as well as the new focus and access to the masses of free quality education. This had laid the ground work for the modern economy that stretches from sector to sector. The Alliance, and its worlds have some of the most educated populaces any place in the galaxy. Unemployment rested on planets around the 2% mark and on New Earth It self at 2.79 %, pay was high. The focus on art, music and generally leisurely and hand crafted things helped balance things out giving a softer side to Terran made goods, while they were fabricating trillions of metric tons of goods for their society they still had room for sentimental things. Fabricators churned out parts for high tech and ultra tech goods for use both on alliance worlds and stations and to export abroad to other powers it had made contact with. The Data industry is also thriving in a big way. A market for data from person to person, to company to company, and nation to nation as well as the telecoms mass media and instant access data networks w and are continuously being built up as federal subsidization became more prevalent and regulations became less restrictive and more streamlined, how ever the regulations kept in place were "common sense" controls to protect civil rights national security, and the economy at large . The strategic location of the Alliance between sol and the center of the galaxy and its holdings on either side of the cradle of humanity in stars distant and close to it, combined with its highly educated and well mannered workforce, and its ultra-tech industrial might and mature developed service economy makes the Terran Alliance one of the foremost flag ship economies outside of the sol sector. The alliance and its private industry along with government investments helped fuel advanced gate networks that were linking almost every interstellar nation the Alliance had contact with, connecting sectors and systems to one another with instant links. The movements of goods and technology and capital has accelerated to a pace never before seen by previous generations. Taxation in the Alliance is done in various ways, income taxes are nearly non existent. The Federal government abolished personal income taxes, on the federal level land value taxes, sales taxes import duties, moderate to low corporate taxes , capital gains taxes and collective income taxes on large mega and multinational conglomerates on assets both overseas and domestic make up the difference. These taxes included a low quality of life tax that distributed funds to social welfare and system funding. A verity of taxing schemes exists on the system and planetary level, free universal health care, education and equality spending as well as investments in public works on the local and federal level all required some funding. The tax code was made to be fair and to give corporations that operated in the Alliance the most support and least burden possible. Though there is no federal income tax this may vary from world to world, as the alliance is not as centralized as other states, systems and planets handle the majority of law enforcement, health care and public infrastructure including transportation locally as mandated by the constitution they must keep it at a level of high development to mitigate penalization. Demographics Over the centuries as with any power that had embraced freedom liberty and change, the population that made up the Terran Alliance had changed, from nearly all baseline and partly augmented humans in the early years to half alien, non human and half augmented and baseline humans. Even though the alliance hasn't classified itself as an empire many see it as one. Halfings, Anthromorphs , AI's, and aliens of origins outside of alliance held sectors mix liberally and quickly with humans and augments alike adding to the vast tapestry of every aspect of Terran Life. During the many years and conflicts that the Terran's had involved themselves in worlds had been annexed, systems incorporated and lost peoples with no other home integrated in to the alliance, in modern times there are too many races to name that work hand in hand with human and AI's to build a dream like nation of opulence, freedom and stability and peace.The country is all the stronger for its resolve and determination to the liberty of everyone to equally coexist without a specific race being treated as superior over another . Even through the anthropomorphic wars of the mid 28th century anthromophs and aliens were greeted with open arms. With the alliance democratic system of government everyone is involved in decision making on some scale, aliens and AI's and humans all hold positions of high authority. Political Structure The Terran Alliance is very much a political entity, both on the local levels and federal level. To remain in the Alliance as an incorporated system and integrated planet the constitution laid out that all planetary governments must meet certain criteria. Being democratic and having extensive civil rights were amongst them. Over the many centuries powerful political parties rose and fell notable ones such as the Systems party , and Cyberist Union Party changed and morphed to fit the ever changing eras. The modern political scene is home to many parties and many organizations , the Federalist Party and Mercantile Party being the two dominant polities in the alliance at the moment. The constitution laid out the framework for the political system, two majority parties were allowed to coexist in order to add balance to the picture. Other parties such as the Non-aligned party the Centrist party the AI endorsed progressive party and more extreme Liberal party exists with significant powers even though they are a "minority" in the senate. The Alliance mandates a semi republican style of governance at the local and system level with direct democracy applied with digital telepathy used for instant voting on issues and for office positions such as planetary governors or mayors and planetary council or for system level senates. This allows direct population control over their elected officials allowing for a quick overturn of passed laws or recall elections should the need or want arise. The federal government operates in a republican style, with check and balances and legislature level debates and law making. If the government is in deadlock, the populace through the use of digital telepathy has the ability to recall passed laws, force the senate to reexamine issues, recall elected senator, pass ballot items or approve previously rejected laws by majority vote. Executive elections on the federal scale and most local scales happen every 8 years, legislative elections every 6 years, judges and magistrates are either appointed on the federal level and system level for high courts, or elected by municipalities or local governments. Brakes with traditions are rare but they do happen with Tyrian being one of the systems on an odd year cycle. Following with a non discriminatory policy prevalent through out the alliance, aliens AI's and humans alike are allowed to hold high office. NGO watch dog groups such as the organization for effective government exist to weed out political corruption answering directly to the people themselves and non aligned law enforcement groups charged with enforcing anti corruption laws. Government self examination groups also exist on every scale. This means political corruption is not as big as a problem as in other nations, while some still exists as nothing can be perfect it is mitigated by efforts of these organizations to curb it. Most of the judicial system works on a base of trail by peers and the motto of innocent until proven guilty. Evolving and taking from the systems of previous generations the courts on every level use this method for the majority of cases. However in some cases magistrates bare the decision making process, this is true in some civil cases and other special cases. Planetary systems differ from star system to star system but usually work on the same principles as the Federal courts. The council of magistrates is the highest court in Terran held space and serves as a check and balance for the other branches of governments and can often overturn laws, uphold them or even set their own precedents all within the purview of the constitution, as they are bound by the same laws that govern Terran space.